Plug the gap

DISASTROUS oil tanker spills are the target of a scheme suggested by Keith Lyons of Wirrall in British patent application 2 287 676. Rather than cleaning them up, Lyons hopes to stop spills altogether.

Rolls of plastic or rubber sheeting hang like toilet rolls from the upper deck of the tanker. Electric wire coils are embedded in the sheet and connected to an on-board power supply.

If the ship's hull is holed, the rolls can be moved along rails until they sit directly above any damage. The sheet would then be unrolled so that it hangs loosely down the side of the ship. When the power to the coils is switched on, they generate a magnetic field that attracts the sheet to the metal hull and clamps it tightly over the damaged area.

The sheet also has inflatable pockets connected by air pipes to a compressor on the deck. When ...

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